Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Russia has remained tight-lipped about Ukraine’s claim to have killed the commander of the Black Sea Fleet in a missile strike on its headquarters in Sevastopol, Crimea, last Friday.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond when asked by CNBC to confirm or deny whether Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, had been killed. If proven, Sokolov’s killing would represent a severe blow to Russia’s naval leadership.

Ukraine’s special operations forces said on Telegram Monday that “after the strike on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, 34 officers died, including the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Another 105 occupiers were wounded. The headquarters building cannot be restored.”

It was not clear how Ukraine counted the Russian dead and wounded in the attack.

After the strike on Friday, Russia’s defense ministry said on Telegram that one serviceman was missing, revising an earlier statement that the man had been killed. It said its air defenses had downed five missiles, but acknowledged that “the historical headquarters building of the Black Sea Fleet was damaged.”

Ukraine has targeted Russian military bases in Crimea repeatedly in recent months, its strikes on the Russian navy headquarters on Friday being one of the most audacious attacks. It also attacked Russian military facilities near Sevastopol last Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

— Holly Ellyatt

The Biden administration slapped fresh trade curbs on 11 Chinese and five Russian companies Monday, targeting foreign actors seen as compromising national security and drawing Beijing’s ire.

The U.S. accused Hong Kong-based exporter Asia Pacific Links; three Finnish freight, warehousing, and logistics companies; three Russian entities and a German industrial equipment producer of being embroiled in a scheme to flout U.S. export curbs by supplying drone components to the previously blacklisted Special Technology Center in St. Petersburg, Russia.

For more, please read the full story.

— Clement Tan

Hungary is not in a hurry to ratify Sweden’s NATO accession, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told parliament on Monday, flagging a further delay in a process that has been stranded in parliament since July 2022.    

“I wonder if there is something urgent that would force us to ratify Sweden’s NATO bid. I cannot see any such circumstance,” he said.

— Reuters

Ukraine claimed Monday that a strike it carried out on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea killed 34 Russian officers, including the commander of the Russia’s prized Black Sea Fleet.

“Another 105 occupiers were wounded. The headquarters building cannot be restored,” Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said on Telegram Monday.

It said that the number of fatalities had been so high “given that the Minsk large landing ship was supposed to go on combat duty the next day, the personnel were present at the ship. Irreversible losses amounted to 62 occupiers,” the post said.

CNBC was unable to immediately verify the information in the post and Russia has not responded to the latest claim by Ukraine.

Ukraine has targeted Russian military bases in Crimea repeatedly in recent months, its strikes on the Russian navy headquarters on Friday being one of the most audacious attacks. It also attacked Russian military facilities near Sevastopol last Wednesday, Thursday and on Saturday.

Russia’s defense ministry said one serviceman was missing after the attack, revising an earlier statement that the man had been killed. Air defenses had downed a total of five missiles, the ministry said.

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukraine’s defense forces said they see a large-scale attack on the port of Odesa as revenge for Ukraine’s recent attack on the Russian naval headquarters in Crimea last Friday.

Russian missiles struck a hotel in Odesa last night,” Ukraine’s defense forces said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“A pathetic attempt at retaliation for our successful hit on the Russian Navy HQ in Sevastopol,” the tweet added.

Odesa suffered what officials called “significant damage” in a large-scale Russian attack overnight.

Ukraine’s southern defense forces said 19 Shahed-136/131 type attacking drones, 12 Kalibr missiles and two Onyx supersonic missiles were used in the attack on Odesa. It said its air defense forces had shot down 19 drones and 11 Kalibr missiles but port infrastructure was hit and granaries destroyed.

The attack came after two days of attacks on Russian-occupied Crimea. Ukraine hit the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol on Friday and then launched a missile attack on the city Saturday.

— Holly Ellyatt

Poland’s president appeared to soften Warsaw’s recent rhetoric toward Ukraine after tensions rose in recent weeks between the allies and neighbors, particularly over grain imports.

“We need to get our emotions under control, because let’s remember who will benefit most if the paths of Poland and Ukraine diverge. The consequences could be tragic,” Polish President Andrzej Duda told a Polish newspaper Sunday.

Duda’s comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared to suggest, when addressing the U.N. General Assembly last week in New York, that some of Ukraine’s allies had feigned solidarity with Kyiv.

That comment appeared to prompt Poland’s prime minister to state that Poland would no longer supply Kyiv with weapons, escalating tensions further.

Poland has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in the war, but tensions have grown recently over Ukraine’s agricultural exports that have been transported via eastern Europe, with local farmers saying their own livelihoods have been affected by a glut of cheaper imports.

In an interview with a Polish newspaper on Sunday, Duda noted that Zelenskyy’s comments at the U.N. General Assembly could have been down to stress.

“Let’s not forget that Zelenskyy is under enormous pressure,” he told Polish newspaper Super Express.  “He is sending people to the front, often to their deaths.”

Referring to defense spending, he said new equipment “must serve to strengthen the Polish army,” before more can be sent to Ukraine. “We are not spending billions for us to suddenly give it away,” he said.

“But that doesn’t mean that we won’t hand over armaments to Ukraine at all,” he said, adding that “when the old equipment is replaced by modern equipment, I don’t see a problem with sending that [old equipment] to the Ukrainians.”

Zelenskyy seemed to attempt to dial down the rhetoric when he posted on Telegram a message thanking Poles for their support in the war, saying “thank you to all of Poland for the invaluable support and solidarity that helps defend the freedom of our entire Europe.”

— Holly Ellyatt